One of the promises of automation is that it will lead to manufacturing reshoring, but there has been little evidence of that so far, states a report. However, the reality is more complex than a zero-sum game.

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Reshoring has declined in the past few years. Source: "Robotics in Reverse," A.T. Kearney

Improvements in industrial automation, particularly in collaborative robots, will make it easier for large and small U.S. factories to increase productivity and global competitiveness, states the conventional wisdom. This in turn, should enable manufacturing reshoring of work that was sent overseas.

However, a recent study by A.T. Kearney found that U.S. imports of manufactured goods from offshoring countries last year reached $751 billion, a record high. In addition, China was the top source...

Eugene Demaitre was a senior editor for Robotics Business Review. He has worked as an editor at BNA, Computerworld, and TechTarget. Demaitre has a master's degree in international affairs from the George Washington University.